Figures show long-term growth of private rental sector

A debt advisory service claims it has calculated the overall size of the private rental sector.

Sirius Property Finance analysed the current state of the PRS, looking at the level of stock, the current market value of this stock, the average yield available and how this has changed since 2019. 

The latest figures show that the overall size of the PRS has grown by 2.4 per cent across England since 2019, with 4.876m properties. 

The South East has driven this growth with a 9.1 per cent increase, along with the South West (up 7.4 per cent) and the North West (up 3.8 per cent). However, the East Midlands (down 9.9 per cent), Yorkshire and the Humber (down 0.4 per cent) and East of England (down 0.3 per cent) have all seen a decline in PRS stock when compared to the pre-pandemic market. 

The analysis also claims that the current total value of PRS stock is £1.536 trillion across England alone, having seen a 30 per cent increase since 2019 alone. 

At an estimated £575.7 billion, London has seen the smallest increase in value since 2019, at 16 per cent. TheSouth West has seen the largest rise - up 41 per cent. 

Finally, the analysis shows that of the 4.876m rental homes across England, just 130,272 are currently listed online as available to rent, equating to just 2.7 per cent of all PRS stock.

A spokesperson for Sirius says: “Despite the government’s sustained attempts to dampen the enthusiasm of buy-to-let investors, the private rental sector has continued to grow in size over the last few years. 

“This growth, combined with the high rates of house price appreciation seen throughout the pandemic, have pushed the total value of the sector to a quite remarkable level. 

“However, previous whisperings of a hike in capital gains tax will remain a worry for those who have benefited from an increase in the value of their buy-to-let portfolio. Should these changes come to fruition in the future, we may well see many landlords scramble for the exit to avoid the government’s latest cash grab.”